Exodus 35

Exodus 35:1

Augustine of Hippo: When Moses came down from the mountain and came to the children of Israel, bringing other tables of the law, covered his face with a veil because of the radiance that radiated his face, which the children of Israel could not see, he said to them: These are the things that the Lord has commanded to do. It is set ambiguously if faceré ea (doing things) refers to the Lord or to them. But it is clear that it refers to them. Well it is God who sent what they had to do. But perhaps these words were put so that they could be interpreted in a double sense. That is to say, that the Lord does things when he helps those who do them, according to the words of the Apostle: With fear and trembling work for your salvation; for God is the one who works in you to will and to act, according to his good will (Philip 2,12.13). 168 (Exodus 35.24). All those who brought an offering presented silver and bronze as offerings to the Lord. It is as if he said: “everyone who took, brought this or that, among other things that said, mentioning silver and bronze.” The Latin translators translated without doubt by demtionem (offering) the Greek word afairema. Now, demtio means what one takes away from oneself to give to the Lord. — QUESTIONS ON EXODUS, Q. 167 (tr. J. Litteral, draft)

Exodus 35:11

Augustine of Hippo: After Moses came down from the mountain, the works for the construction of the tabernacle and the making of the priestly vestments are remembered. But before ordering anything about the way of doing these things, Moses reminds the people of the obligation to keep the Sabbath. Well, it is something that draws attention and not without reason why, after receiving a second time the words of the law on the stone tablets, which he himself worked and he wrote himself, only speaks to the people about the Saturday after of his descent from the mountain. For if it was superfluous for the people to hear the ten commandments of the law for the second time, why should it not be superfluous to speak of the Sabbath, since it is already spoken of in the same commandments? Or is it perhaps that this is similar to the veil that covered his face, because the children of Israel could not contemplate the brightness of it? (Cf Exodus 34,34.35) Because of the ten commandments he only sent to the people what was said there figuratively. With respect to the other nine commandments as they are sent there, we do not doubt that they are also ordered to be saved in the New Testament. On the other hand, that commandment on the Sabbath, was so veiled for the Israelites with the figurative guard of the seventh day and was mysteriously imposed and indicated with a certain secret, that we do not keep it today. We only see what it meant. In that rest, which requires the abandonment of all servile work, the height of God’s grace is great. For good works are done with rest when faith acts for love (Cf Galatians 5,6). Fear produces torment, and in torment, what rest is there? Therefore, in love there is no fear (1 John 4,8), because love has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit that has been given to us (Rm 5,5). That is why the Sabbath is the holy rest consecrated to the Lord (Exodus 35,2), that is, rest that must be attributed to the grace of God, not to us, as if it came from us. Because, otherwise, our works will be as if they were human works or sins, or made with fear and not with love, and therefore, servile works without rest. But the fullness of the Sabbath will be in eternal rest. For it has not been instituted uselessly even on Saturdays (Cf Leviticus 26,31). — QUESTIONS ON EXODUS, Q. 172 (tr. J. Litteral, draft)

Exodus 35:30

Gregory of Nyssa: “He was entrusted,” he says, “with the construction of things by the Father.” But if he had been talking about some artizan executing his work at the pleasure of his employer, would he not have used the same language? For we are not wrong in saying just the same of Bezaleel, that being entrusted by Moses with the building of the tabernacle, he became the constructor of those things there mentioned, and would not have taken the work in hand had he not previously acquired his knowledge by Divine inspiration, and ventured upon the undertaking on Moses’ entrusting him with its execution. Accordingly the term “entrusted” suggests that His office and power in creation came to Him as something adventitious, in the sense that before He was entrusted with that commission He had neither the will nor the power to act, but when He received authority to execute the works, and power sufficient for the works, then He became the artificer of things that are, the power allotted to Him from on high being, as Eunomius says, sufficient for the purpose. — AGAINST EUNOMIUS 11.5

Augustine of Hippo: We already said in another place what we thought about what Moses says that God told him about Besalel. And he says it in another place with the same words as here: that God had filled him with the divine spirit of wisdom and intelligence and science to perform the works of the tabernacle related to the skill of the craftsmen. But I thought it appropriate to recall this same thing here, because it is not repeated in vain with the same words that the Lord had told Moses before. It is clear that here is mentioned in a new way the art of architecture of those who work gold and silver and any other metal, when it is usually called art of architecture related to the construction of buildings. 170 (Exodus 36.2.3). And to all those who would spontaneously want to go to work to do it. And they received from Moses all the offerings. Moses made known only the works that the Lord had commanded to be done, that is, the tabernacle with all the things that were in it and the priestly garments (Cf Exodus 35,10-18). But he mentioned some, of whom he said that they had been given the divine spirit to be able to do those works. And yet, it is evident that many came spontaneously to those works, because they did not receive any order or say that the Lord remembered their names to Moses. Therefore, they did not have this divine gift those solos whose names are expressly remembered, but perhaps they had it in a special and higher way. Well, in all these you have to praise the spirit, not dragged into work slavishly, but delivered freely and spontaneously. 171 (Exodus 36.4.5). It should be noted that those who are called wise artisans of the sanctuary were also wise because of their customs. As they were the ones who received everything the people offered thinking that it was necessary to perform all those works, and as they saw that the people offered more than what was needed, they warned Moses, and Moses through his town crier forbade the people to offer more things. They could, if they had wanted to, remove many things, but either moderation forbade it or religious scruples terrified them. — QUESTIONS ON EXODUS, Q. 169 (tr. J. Litteral, draft)